


Absolution

by Kyroshiro, trurisky



Series: Absolution [1]
Category: N/A - Fandom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-13 18:18:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17492861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyroshiro/pseuds/Kyroshiro, https://archiveofourown.org/users/trurisky/pseuds/trurisky
Summary: A story me and a friend are making.





	1. The beginning

...Oh? You...are actually listening to me for once? Well...that’s new. Well, since you’re actually listening, my name is Itsumaku. What am I exactly? Well...I was once an Elemental, the Elemental of Aether. I once had a major hand in making this world, but when my brother and sisters turned on me, I landed myself here, in exile. What did I do to receive this fate? I...cannot tell you, all I can say is they wanted to make their own fates, and I was the one trying to lead them to the path I knew was best for everyone. How do I know? Well...I seen a lot of timelines from when I was still...you know, around. Enough about me...it’s time I taught you all I remember…

 

A long time ago, before life even began, I sat there in the void of nothingness; there I stood for what felt like 100 eternities before my power finally flowed through me. Using all I could, I created everything I could muster: entire solar systems and galaxies, life and death, and soon the Elementals. Mizu of Water, Kuki of Wind, Kaze of Fire, Ichi of Earth, Michiko of Light, and Yami of Darkness. They were there to help me in every way they could, whether it be something like balance or merely carving the path to the future I envisioned. As a result for helping me, they were given a portion of my power. I knew one day I would have to retire, or as you mortals call it “pass away” so this was in a way a counter measure...how wrong I was to do this. Only after one millennia, they turned on me. They wanted to create their own paths, refusing to follow my instructions. I was weakened from my efforts, so I was eventually defeated and banished to the Lifestream, where I currently lie. They then turned my magic to make their own creations. Most notably, humanity.

 

That leads me here, today. I know you’re there, I can see you clearly through this hellhole. I foresee a calamity, one that will wipe all life from existence, from the very beings my brother and sisters made. They’re greedy, careless, and will stop at nothing until they have everything in their control. Nairu...you need to wake up…

 

Wake up….

 

**Wake up.**

 

The sunlight finally peaks out the window. It’s morning...great. Underneath the covers, Nairu finally wakes up. Another day...he just shrugs to himself. His work is never really done anyways. He finally gets up from the bed and looks at himself in the mirror in his room. His hair is a mess, patches of brown in it. He’s usually blonde, but from all the work he’s been having to do, and without not much cleaning water, he’s been forced to live dirty for some time. It’s like it has stained his hair, not able to get out anymore without extensive effort. Under his left eye is a cut, it’s not deep but the scab looks...nasty. He had to fight off some wolves yesterday, and while most of his wounds have healed over time, this one looks bad. Once again, he shrugs. He hasn’t cared for a while, ever since the monetarists came to power. They’ve been taking his father more and more as the days went on. Nairu had to do a vast majority of the work, since his father’s been plagued by a mix of illness and old age. He’s only 19, but he might as well be in his 30s now, seeing how he carries himself. He finally opens the door to his very small room and immediately walks into the living room, where his father lies on the couch. There’s gauze all over his right arm, as well as bottles of alcohol, both medicinal and beverage. His father, Markus, was never a drinker, but lately he’s been taking to the bottle; after all, it’s all they could afford nowadays, the taxes on water was getting too high for them. All Escarde’s monetarists care about now is money, money, and more fucking money. Nairu was sick of it, beyond mad over the treatment they’ve been receiving. How he’d love to strangle them, but he can’t; if he does, his parents and himself lose the farm, the last thing they truly have. His mother, Hikari, wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Probably busy somewhere. He just goes outside and grabs a sickle from the wagon out front and walks to the wheat stalks.

 

“Another day I guess...” Nairu mumbles to himself as he walks past all the plants they’ve been making. Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, carrots, the whole nine yards. All of them needed to be atered and catered to every day, otherwise they’d not have the food nor money to support themselves enough to be alive. He just sighs and gets to the wheat. Before he could begin the day, he heard several barks and some growling. As he looked near the pens, he saw a pack of wolves tear one of the animals apart, seeing the meat and organs spill out. It was one of their cows, they only had three left…

 

“HEY!” Nairu shouts, charging at them. The wolves look at him and run with their food in mouth. Nairu doesn’t even stop to look at the cow corpse, just wanting to smack those wolves silly. He chased them almost to the forest path, and by the time Nairu caught up with them, they finally finished their meat, and after looking at him, looked rather hungry again. Nairu was too pissed to be intimidated, but soon what was a pack of three turned to five, and finally nine. One walked forward, growling rather aggressively. Nairu simply swung the sickle, striking the wolf in the throat. The wolf nearly choked and collapsed, and with that the rest charged. Nairu did his best to fend them off as best as he could, but after taking care of two more, he has already been bitten in the left arm, and after killing one more, the rest of the pack looks at him one more time before one barks again, and the rest run away. Nairu looks at his bloody arm, the red juice that is his blood came gushing out like a fountain. He winces and simply takes his shirt off to cover it as best as he can. There is where he noticed one also clawed on him near the guts. He doesn’t care about that, he just lays on a tree and waits for the blood to stop leaking. Then, he heard footsteps, and Nairu simply grabs his sickle again. As he turns the corner, he sees what appears to be a woman mostly dressed in leaves and other forest-like garment, even wearing a cloak of leaves. A dryad, he assumes. Nairu just rolls his eye and tries to walk away, but before he got far, the dryad grabs his shoulder.

 

“Wait...you’re hurt. Let me help.” is all the dryad says.

 

“Why? I’m fine...” Nairu responds, but the dryad simply looks at his arm, seeing the shirt Nairu had on almost fully red.

 

“You’re not. Come.” The dryad walks, but Nairu doesn’t follow at first. A few steps later, the dryad turns around, and looks at his general direction. Nairu finally sighs and just walks.

 

After a short walk, Nairu and the dryad walk to what appears to be a stump of a once living tree, surrounded by leaves of all varieties. The dryad leads Nairu to take a seat on the stump, and soon begins to mix some of the leaves into a potion. As the dryad does, Nairu begins to pay some more attention to the Dryad. On her head was what looked like horns made of small branches, while her skin looked somewhat human it clearly had the camouflage of the local fauna like if it was painted. After a few minutes, the dryad walks back to Nairu and hands him a small potion, looking like a very bizarre, tinted green. While Nairu was hesistant at first, he figured he had nothing to lose and just took small sips of the concoction. It only took a moment for Nairu to realize that his arm began to stop swelling, and as he removed the shirt, he noticed the wound has already began to heal…

 

“Thanks...” Nairu muttered, but as he turned to face the dryad, the dryad already left…

 

“...Okay, Mrs. Shypox...” Nairu said as he looked around once more, but not finding her. After a while Nairu just sighs and walks back home. The dryad comes out soon after, and just goes back to making potions…

 

By the time Nairu went back, his father awoken and finally began tending the fields as well. Markus looked at Nairu as he passed by, and noticed his arm. He grabs his son by the arm, and asks “Nairu, my boy! Are you alright? You...look like you’ve gotten yourself bit again...”  
  
“Yeah...I’m fine. I guess...” Nairu says, not really wanting to admit it.  


“...I don’t know if we can afford a doctor Nairu...”  
  
“I had...someone help me I guess? I tried to ask for his name, but he left before I could. Must’ve been shy or some jazz...” Nairu rolls his eyes and lets out a chuckle.  
  
“Guess that was a dryad. Escarde’s been getting some reports of a dryad over in that there forest, but I think they’ve been wanting to evict him for some time...”  
  
“Let me guess.” Nairu looks pissed and his tone turned mocking and cold. “Because it’s for the fucking best of Escarde, but in reality we just want more MONEY! Because that’s all we care about! Money money money money MONEY!” Nairu throws his sickle in the ground, clearly pissed off.

 

“...Temper my boy.” Markus calmly puts a hand on his shoulder. “I know you’re wanting to teach those monetarist fellows a thing or two, but you’re looking at it at the wrong way. I don’t want you getting yourself in trouble like how some people out here are. So please. Be careful okay?”  
  
Nairu just looks at his father for a second, before finally sighing in defeat. “Fine. But if one of those bastards is swinging I’m not gonna be the nice guy and take it. Fair?”

 

“Then I say let them have it...hopefully.” His father says, finally grabbing the stocks of corn. “Mind giving me a hand?”

 

“...Yeah, fine...” Nairu says, and grabbing some of the stock. Those monetarists are coming again in a few days for an “inspection” anyways, though Nairu firmly believes it’s gonna be another spiel of “wanting more product.” Either way, the day’s barely begun and Nairu already wants it to end...


	2. How it began

Nairu grabs his bandaged arm, checking for blood. Nothing new, but he just doubts the Dryad’s potion. Why would she help him? Why would she just come in and give aid to a stranger? It didn’t make sense to him...but then again, the world is just weird and broken anyways. He just sighs and shakes his head, trying to finish his part of work for the day. He grabs a basket full of mixed foods, when Hikari, his mother, yells from the house.

 

“Nairu, Markus! You got visitors!” she says, with clear discord in her voice. Nairu just walks up and notices a caravan wagon nearby, and he felt his anger boil over again. The symbol on it was a shield, half broken, with one side like a knightly adornment, the other side nothing but gold coin. It’s **their symbol** , those Monetarists that kept bugging him and his father, taxing them to extremes. Just seeing it made Nairu want to run in and just beat them to a pulp, but he knows well to risk having an entire army come to the farm; he just sighs and keeps his head down as he heads inside to deal with the yelling. The minute he comes inside, he sees two guards in the doorway, already pointing their spears at his neck. They look him dead in the eyes, but soon drop it when they notice its Nairu. He doesn’t flinch, just shrug. Inside there are three men, all in suits. One is vastly overweight and wielding a cane with a diamond on it. The other two don’t look any lighter, but vastly less fat. All are bearded, and the really big one with a pair of glasses on it. Reminded Nairu of a villian...somewhere in a book he read, he just couldn’t put his finger on it…

 

“So Markus, do you have the food? You know I have men to feed.” the really fat one says. “Or did you nearly piss yourself like last time only bringing me enough for one man? Don’t lie, I know your son does most of the work anyways...”  
  
“AHEM!” Nairu loudly proclaims before slamming the basket on the table. “Here. We got more almost in harvest, but these are all we got that are ripe and ready. And no, he did most of it.”

 

“Don’t lie sonny...” He grabs Nairu by the chin and draws him closer, seeing the anger in Nairu’s eyes seeing him. “Oh...you’re like a bull ready to charge, aren’t you? Temper temper Nairu...do I need to teach you again?”

 

“Fuck off Jared.” Nairu puts bluntly. The two guards come up to Nairu, and one slams their shield right in his face, sending him stumbling. Hikari squeals and tries to run to Nairu’s side before being pulled away by one of the guards. “You bloody heard me you fat fuck, the rest aren’t done yet! Take your shit and get out!” Nairu yelled again before getting slammed by the shield again, forced to the wall.

 

“Temper...your father raised you better...didn’t he?” Jared says, before snapping his fingers. The guard once again slams the shield to Nairu, but this time Nairu put his arms up, but recoils when it hits his bad arm. The guard just once again slams it, only for Nairu to block it again. The third time, Nairu just ducks and dodges to the side, only for the other guard to come up and slice him in the chest. He doesn’t feel it much at first, but when he was slammed by the shield a fourth and final time, Nairu finally went to the ground.

 

“...F-fuck off...you fat, pretentious pig...” Nairu says before getting kicked in the throat, all the air knocked out of his lungs. Hikari and Markus run to Nairu, trying to tend to him as Jared stands over all three of them, cane in hand.

 

“Now...your son is quite...rambunctious isn’t he? I’ll let this slide...for what, the 20th time so far? But next time...” Jared puts his sharp end of his cane to Nairu’s temple and presses down, not enough to cut but to raise a point. “Well, let’s say we’re gonna have a field day with him. Understood?”

 

“Mister Jared, I’m sorry for his outburst, but he speaks the truth about our fruits! Most are not ripe yet to harvest, and pulling them early will lead them to spoiling too fast! The rest will come due next week, by the-”  


“Next week?” Jared says, before slamming the cane down to the ground. “Next week!? I have 20 odd men to feed, this only enough for five, and you say the rest is NEXT WEEK!?” Jared yells the last loud enough for it to echo throughout the farmhouse. After a moment, he regains his composure before pushing the two aside and grabbing Nairu up by his shirt, lifting him on his feet. Before Nairu could do anything, the two guards pin him to the wall, spear to neck. “Now...you’ll be a good little boy and listen to Uncle Jared. I’ve had enough of your outbursts whenever I decide to visit after a long hiatus. I want you to behave, and next time I’m not simply beating you. Understood?”

 

Nairu stares at him, still full of anger and rage, but with him to the wall and blood spilling from his chest lightly, he just keeps quiet, refusing to answer.

 

“Good….” he waves his hand and the guards drop the spears, only to have Nairu collapse to the ground. “You got next week to get it Markus. No more, no less!” Jared says as he grabs his guards and walks out of the household…

 

 

Night came, and Nairu just sat in his small room, all bandaged. He just sat there, all kept to himself. However, after a while his father came into the room. He had two bottles of booze in his hand and he just sat near Nairu on the bed, offering him one. As Nairu took one, he put his hand on his shoulder and began to talk.

 

“Champ, I know you’re mad about what’s going on, but what happened today scared your mother witless. I understand you want to make life easier on us, but I don’t want it to cost you more than it already has.” He opens his bottle with an opener of sorts before passing it to Nairu. “Just think about it, soon we may have a house to call our own in the middle of the woods, where we can just hunt for food and water. Live a more simple life, away from the rest of the world! I know you’ve been wanting to make a small house near that small lake for some time too...”

 

“Yeah...I guess.” Nairu opens his and takes a sip before talking again. “We only got...what, another year of this madness to go? Maybe two?”

 

“That’s a better way to look at it, I suppose. But please, just don’t get yourself into anymore trouble for us, okay? I don’t know if next time Jared’ll have the patience...”

 

“……..Yeah, I’ll do my best.” Nairu says, somewhat softly before going more into his drink.

 

“Sleep tight tonight, tomorrow we got a lot of work to do…” Markus says as he gets up and leaves the room.

 

Nairu never really slept that night, mostly just stared out the window. He wanted an escape for the longest time, away from everyone. A place he could go and not have to deal with anyone’s bullshit or rules; a place he could do almost whatever he pleased. He kept staring into the night sky and noticed a shooting star.

 

“...I wish I could just do something to fight back against those...fuckers.” Nairu whispers. However, then he noticed the star getting closer and closer. Soon, it landed and dirt flew up from his window as he took cover behind the door. When the dust settled, he stared out the window, it broken and in shattered pieces across the floor. He gets up and looks around outside. He quickly noticed something landed in the backyard, it...looked like a weird rock...but open. He looked inside and saw...something. It was like a weird red rock, but all diamond like, and had a very weird symbol on it, like a meteor or...something. He reaches to pick it up…

 

The dryad stares on from the forest line, noticing the star fall from the heavens. It landed near this wooden farm, and...you see something familiar walk up. It looked like the same person you helped earlier when he was bitten by the wolves. He looks all bruised and battered, and something tells you to run over and help, but you don’t know what that meteor does. They simply watch as Nairu picks it up…

 

The rock glows radiantly, the warmth almost welcoming. However, soon it turns from warm to painful, like his soul is ignited ablaze. Nairu falls to the ground as the rock glows more and more, red energy swarming around him. Soon the energy just fluctuates not only around him, but in him. Nairu screams as quietly as he can, but he feels his soul almost tearing at the seams. Whatever this is, it’s almost trying to kill him. He tries to throw it away, but it refuses to leave his hand. He tries to smash it, but nothing. That’s when he saw a familiar face, that one dryad. They try to help him with whatever magic they wield, and talk.

 

“Are you okay?” Is all they ask. Nairu just stares and tries to get up. After several attempts, he finally does, the aura beginning to stabilize. He looks at the rock once more, the glow finally reaching something of a balance. However, the quiet would not last, as soon, several horses and men come to the farm, probably noticing the meteor and strange energies. One of them, perhaps the captain, gets off the horse, and not only notices the Dryad, but Nairu as well, with that strange aura around him.

 

“Sir, whatever rock you have, hand it over. Now.” The captain says, blade drawn.

 

Nairu just looks at him, not answering. Soon, a voice enters his head, though who is unclear to him,

 

**You...Nairu, do you remember me? Do you know me by chance? The one who calls you at night? It’s me again, but these men...they seek to hurt you, hurt your family. They’ve beaten you to a pulp, haven’t they?**

 

“Shut up...” Nairu just says, drawing the attention of the Captain.  


“Excuse me?” he says, walking forward.

 

**I know you wanted to let it all out for a long, long time, and now you have your chance. I’m you as you are me, but together we can fix everything…**

 

“SHUT UP!” Nairu yells, the power from whatever rock he grabbed growing more and more, knocking the Dryad over as well as the Captain.

 

**Well, what are you waiting for? Are you just gonna stand there?**

 

“SHUT UP!!!!!” Nairu yells again, and suddenly, a bright light fills the area, and soon falls to red…

 

...The dryad awakens, the ground around her burst into flames, though not natural flames. The guards you see that came with are all dead, their bodies turn asunder by unknown force. Nairu stands above the captain and grabs his neck. The dryad runs up to him and grabs his arm, quietly telling him to quietly let him go.

 

“Why? He’s just gonna hurt me, hurt my family...hurt EVERYONE! Why should I spare him!?” Nairu said, blinded by rage.

 

“Because you’d end up as him.” is all she says…

 

Nairu at first doesn’t seem to listen, but after a while, and after seeing his family look on with fear in their eyes, Nairu just throws the Captain away. He doesn’t even check his comrades, merely runs away. However, soon as the fire settles, you quickly notice you’re surrounded by all sides, and soon many guards pin Nairu to the ground as well as his family. They surround you and very quickly arrest you. Before Nairu could say anything, you are knocked out and all fades to black...


	3. Chapter 3

The night passed as the fires finally began to die down. Nairu, his family, and the Dryad were quickly arrested, and his family was beaten to unconsciousness as well. The rest of the guard came in to deal with the destruction Nairu accidentally unleashed. The fire took ages to put out, even some of the best mages they had at their disposal taking a while to take care of it. However, the fire mostly died out before it could be extinguished by them. They simply grabbed what they could salvage and take everyone involved to the nearest kingdom, the one the Monetarists had the biggest impact in, Escarde.

As night turned to day, the Dryad awakens into a cell, though the world is blurry at first. The blow must have knocked more than her senses out of her, though after regaining her bearings, she begins to notice her surroundings. They’re in a cell of some sorts, though it’s small and compact. The walls and floor are made of just concrete, and the cell is cold to be in, as well as the bars looking not only dirty, but a little rusty. You don’t even have the luxury of a window, letting the cold sit and linger more than it reasonably should. You notice the two people in the cell, Nairu and...what appears to be a panda cub? That strikes you as odd, what did such a thing do to end up in here? However, it seems to be trying to wake Nairu up, but he doesn’t budge. You try to do a spell, but on your wrists appears to be something akin to handcuffs, and it seems trying to do any spell only causes it to be nullified. You give up after a while and just try to rouse him awake. You rouse him awake after a good moment and you see him open his eyes. The left one has a massive cut under it, as well as some dried up blood, the right is blackened and bruised. He doesn’t talk, just looks like a lot is on his mind.

“Are you alright? Anything ailing you terribly?” The Dryad asks.

“Like it matters. You realize we’re dead now right? We’re literally in the prison where they rule everything. Just...if you got any god, pray to them. I doubt they’re gonna let us go.” His breathing seems heavy at first, but he quickly regains his composure. That’s when he notices the panda, who he simply can’t ignore anymore. However, soon the panda cub runs to the Dryad and cooed, like if trying to get their attention. “Who are you anyways?”

“My name is Kyroshiro, though you can call me Kyro.” Kyro responds, before patting the panda in the head a few times, making them smile. Kyro then gestures towards the bars. “As for our lives, what say you? Are you in for some sneaking out?”

Nairu finally gets up with audible trouble, though he finally manages to stand. “They do seem weak...” Nairu grabs the bar and first shakes it, then tries to struggle breaking it. As he runs out of stamina, you also notice he has those bracelets as well. “Shit...I don’t know if we can right now.” He then notices his hands, all covered in soot and dirt. “Also can they at least fucking clean up after themselves!?” The panda then runs to Nairu and tries to get attention again, and finally gets Nairu to pick them up. “Well...my best guess is...we gotta hope and pray.”

Hm," Kyro closes her eyes in thought. She sighs before she sits down next to the man. "Yes I suppose for now we shall hope. May haps the gods shall be merciful this day." She looks at the limiters placed on her for a while before placing her arms down. She looks up at Nairu. "By the by, how have your wounds healed from last we met? Were there no complications?"

“None I can think of. I’m kinda surprised that muscle and...other things didn’t leak.” He says, and you see him calm down a little, especially since the panda seemed to hug him now. “What’s your name then, little guy?” he asks, but they didn’t get an answer. Nairu just shrugs.

After what felt like an eternity, you see a group of guards open the cell. They’re armed with chains, and soon grab both Kyro and Nairu and chain the limiters together. “You’re to be judged by the Great Sight. I trust there are no objections?” To which, Nairu keeps quiet. He’s already made his peace with death. Kyro simply nods. Together they’re forced to walk out of their cell. The panda however, is nowhere to be seen. The guards don’t even notice and lock the cell back up.

After a walk through the prison, Kyro and Nairu appear in what appears to be a court room. There are nine people present. There is Father Ilberd, the head of church in Escarde, and the only one Kyro recognizes. He often comes to talk with Kyroshiro, mostly about peace and how to obtain it. The rest all appear to be part of the Monetarist organization, all which Nairu recognizes. He has a look of scorn seeing them, but he knows best not temper the flames now; after all his and Kyro’s life are now on the line. Sitting in a few other chairs is his father and mother, also chained and with a guard stationed to them.

“Sit, Nairu.” Jared says, somewhat oppressively. Both Nairu and Kyro are seated, as he begins to speak. “You’ve bitten the hand that feeds you yet again Nairu. I ask you, why do you keep pushing the walls like this? Is it some kind of hope you cling to? Some kind of dream you want to accomplish? Pray, tell me honestly. No scowling, no anger between us two. I just want your answer.”

Nairu at first doesn’t listen, but after a moment finally speaks. “Because I don’t want to live in a world with people like you in it. I don’t care what you say, but you’ve done nothing but cause me, my parents, and countless others nothing but suffering. Now I ask you: why do you do this?”

Jared just sighs and talk again. “We’re at war Nairu. War needs money and supplies.”

“That’s no excuse for treating those under you like shit.” Nairu says with a scorn.

Jared just shrugs then turns to Kyro. “How did you meet Nairu?”

"I came upon him as he was being attacked by the wolves that den nearby," She responds calmly. "I noticed he had been heavily injured and, being the worrywart that I am, I aided him with a healing concoction I had been creating earlier that day. I tended to him and left afterwards to gather some more medicinal herbs." Kyro replies.

“She speaks the truth, Jared.” Ilberd replies, covering for both Kyro and Nairu. “I was there shortly after, and saw the attack.” You know he’s lying, but Jared seems to buy it.

“Hmm. As for you Nairu, what’s a good reason I should let you walk out of this room today?” Hikari comes out of her seat and shouts, only to be sit back down by the guards nearby. His father remains quiet. “You’ve cost me two men, nearly three, in one night due to your outburst. You know the price for murder!” You can tell Nairu wants to run up and give him what for, but he shows some restraint. Seems he can’t find an answer.

“Well Jared, we could always use someone to travel to the other nations, hmm? After all, Nairu is a fresh face, would make for an interesting twist to the game of politics!” Ilberd replies, trying to cover for Nairu.

“He’s a murderer, Father Ilberd. Your church even condemns this action, yet you defend him?” replies Jared.

“That’s because I know Nairu is a good kid at heart, he just had to build several brick walls to cover it. All the hardships life threw at him made him be the way he is; cold, unloving at first glance, and tough. However, I know full well he is more than capable of compassion. He’s just selective on how he shares it,” replied Ilberd.

“Then why hasn’t he shown it to any of our men?” asks Jared.

“Well...he did have a point. I don’t mean to sound rude Jared, but you tend to...be a little rough around the edges when getting a point across,” replied Ilberd.

Jared didn’t even argue, instead just sighed. “There will be a short recess, you two will remain seated.” As the men leave the room, Kyro looks upon Nairu’s family. His mother is still in shock and distress, almost in tears over the ordeal. You see Markus and even the guard try to comfort her.

“Why have you not said a word Nairu?” Kyro asks in confusion.

“Like it matters. I’m a dead man and you know it too. I’ve already made peace with it, so why temper the flames more.” He seems eerily calm about it, but you can see inside he’s in turmoil. Like if he’s about to either snap into rage or tears...maybe both.

“Have faith Nairu, I believe Ilberd shall help us out.” Kyro says. Nairu doesn’t even respond.

After a short pause, everyone returns and sits down. Jared looks Nairu dead in the eyes and speaks again. “While I don’t personally want to, the court has voted 8-1 to allow you to live. However, you are not without punishment. While we decided on what you can do, we decided on this. Nairu R. Calkin, you are sentenced to help us in our goals in this country. You will go where you are needed and do as you’re told, even if it means combat. You’re not to return to this country without permission, and your farmhouse is to be confiscated under your father, where you are prohibited unless told. Kyro, you are also to be held accountable for being a minor accomplice. However, your only job is to keep him alive. Do I make myself clear you two?”

Nairu just shrugs, but nods, as does Kyro.

“If I may.” Ilberd says. “While Jared may be against it, I do wish to speak to you privately when we’re done.” Jared is angered by this, but just grunts and walks out of the room. Everyone else except Nairu’s family and a guard stay, as Ilberd walks over. Hikari runs to her son and hugs him, as Markus just laughs as Nairu dodged a bullet. Ilberd then speaks to both Kyro and Nairu. “He was not hard to convince, but he wishes you to go to the nations that hold interest to him. He sadly hasn’t told me what he wishes to do, but he decided to have some use for you...I suppose.”

Kyro looks at Ilberd curiously. "May hap you might have an idea on what he might want from us to be sending us to the nations, she inquires to the priest.

“I sadly don’t. He insisted on keeping it a secret. As for Nairu, you’re not going empty handed. Wait here one moment...” Ilberd goes behind his desk back where he sat near the trial, and pulls out a black robe. He hands it over to Nairu. “I figured where you would be going would be arduous and tough, full of perilous danger. While I understand you’re far more capable of more heavy armor, the magic you now wield is...unnatural, in light terms. This is to help draw it out a little more safely until you can control it on your own.”

Nairu just grabs it and puts it on. The robe’s head covering almost hides his eyes. “Thanks...I guess. But where are we even going?”

“Jared will have you know by tomorrow. For now, you may return home and you’ll be given your first mission in the morning.” Ilberd says. He bows and leaves the room. The guard then walks you out the building.

Soon they arrive back at Nairu’s house. However, before they can go in, something tugs on Kyro. As she looks, it’s the panda once again, and seemingly to smile. “Oh, what are you doing here?” she says, picking the cub up. They don’t respond, but the guard with you seems genuinely confused. Either way, nightfall is approaching, it’s best the answers lie tomorrow...


	4. Chapter 4

The night came, and with it came a storm. Not something to cause a flood, but enough to leave the area around the farm damp. The sound of rain pattering against the wooden house as almost calming in its own way, and even if it was pouring like hell, it was hard to say it wasn’t easy to sleep to. This was Nairu’s last night at the farm, he’d be away from home for a long, long time; he may never see his home again, he doesn’t know. The excitement of adventure, against his will or not, was definitely appeasing. He finally had the chance to get away from the town, a chance to move out of the prison he called his home. Despite his complaints earlier that night, it was hard to ignore the excitement in his tone.

 

**However, they were not alone that night.**

 

Kyro woke up in the middle of the night, seemingly confused as to why she awoken from her sleep. She felt someone, or something was roaming the house, but could not figure out what. She uses her sixth sense to try and find where this...feeling is coming from. The kitchen, it has to be; she can even smell the food being cooked. She slowly arisen from her bedside, noticing Nairu not even being awake. She shakes this off and goes to investigate, stealthily. The minute she leaves the room, she notices a strange figure walking around the kitchen, quietly moving about, not even the sounds of their footsteps. Though the second you notice them, they duck and hide out of sight.

 

“Come out,” she demands. “I’ve already seen thee.” And to her dismay, not a peep. She comes closer to where she last saw the figure. There’s nothing out of the ordinary, except a few wrappers. Before she can react, a figure comes out of the shadows, grabs her mouth so she can’t scream, and pins her to the counter, brandishing a knife to her neck, having it merely inches from her jugular. There she saw the figure; its was human, but with a few strange details. Its ears were more akin to a panda cub, and her eyes were green. Her hair was jet black, almost covering both of them, and she came closer to look at Kyro. “Who are you?” she whispers, trying to be as quiet as she can be.

 

“I believe I should be the one asking you that.” Kyro says, only to be met with a small incision on the neck, the blood very lightly and slowly dripping from the edge of the blade. “Answer my question first, I’ve killed before you know. I’m not afraid to do it again...”

 

"Whatever you are doing here, know that while I may not be strong, I will fight you to protect Nairu and his family," is all she replies with. The intruder brandishes the knife to the neck, ready to cut, but she hesistates. Finally, after a brief, long silence, she loosens the grip and relaxes the blade affixed to her neck. “I’m Boo. You rescued me from the prison, you provided the perfect cover to get me out. As for Nairu, is that the guy you were with? Blonde hair, tall, skinny as a twig? What did you two do to get in there? I was the only one in the room who actually did something.”

 

Kyro narrowed her eyes. "I recall no one such as yourself in that place," She said, clearly untrusting of the other being. "As for how we ended up in that place, I see no reason to tell you, not after you intruded in this place and say that I helped in your escape." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I shant indulge anymore info until you tell me of your intent." Boo shakes her head and sighs, before talking again. “You don’t remember that panda cub? I wasn’t always like that, truth be told. I was once human too.” She finally lets go of her grip, but she holds a firm grip of her weapon. “I finally remembered a part of that spell that put me in that situation. I found it rather...annoying to work in that body.” She playfully spins the knife in her hands, like an expert. “I was merely hungry after turning back. I saw you and after you saw me, I assumed you knew who I was, and were out to kill me like the rest of them bloody guards.”

 

Kyros eyes widen in surprise, before she looked at the human panda curiously. "And pray tell how do I know you tell the truth," she asked, though looking a bit unsure. "The ears are somewhat convincing of your story, however its not been the first I've been made a fool of." Boo just laughs and just shrugs. “You really never heard of me then? Well...” she pulls a chair out, and sits in it, though the spine of the chair facing herself, and she uses the knife to play with her nails. “I can tell you the whole story, I suppose. However, you’re gonna need to promise me. How do I know you’re not part of the Taballa army? I’m pretty wanted there, and I don’t necessarily trust you neither.”

 

Kyro narrows her eyes once more before she slowly nods, leaning against the counter though still on guard. "I've no idea what this army wants of you, however I can promise I have no part of it. I've never even heard of them."

 

“...what rock have you been living under? I know you’re pretty, but dumb ain’t gonna cut it, not in the world.” she chuckles. “Fine, but trust me, if you’re lying to me, I ain’t afraid of cutting that head of yours loose.” She sighs and while keeping eye contact with her, begins to talk. “Well...my name is Boo Tarayade. I’m wanted in the states of Taballa and Hitali, the Kingdoms of Mizu and Ichi. Mostly for theft, and one murder of a guard. To be fair, however, that guard was gonna kill me if I didn’t, so I say self defense. But back on the topic at hand.” She again playfully spins the knife around between her fingers. “I steal for a living, but that’s due to how I had to live back in the Slums of Hitali. My father...well, I never knew my father, probably some dickish drunk fuckboy from god knows where who never knew about his daughter. My mum died giving me birth, and that left me to rot in the orphanage there. I hated that place with enough measure to give Yami a fun night out. So, I broke out!” She smiles widely. “I had to live in the streets for the next 6 years, stealing to survive. However, I began to see profit in this line of work. So I took several odd jobs, just to get by in this fucking wasteland. My last job was from...well my employer never gave me a name, but asked for the Book of Yarkin. It’s in Taballa’s Great Library, if you didn’t know that either. Anyways, I cut a hole in the ceiling, and lowered into the library. Taking the book was easy, only had one guard on it, and he had a thin skull or something, one swing of a crowbar knocked him out cold.” She playfully knocks herself in the head, indicating blunt trauma. “I took the book and went back out. That’s when I got a visitor, Yami.” Your head is filled with images of her, them scarred into your memory. A long, black dress adorned with a violet haired woman, only 5 feet tall on the dot, but her eyes as red as the oceans of hell itself. Always carrying that crimson scythe, bathed in the blood of the souls she slain. She’s the Elemental of Darkness, Queen of Death, and the Reaper of Eternity. She ruled the Everrealm, the hellhole that the greatest of sinners fall under. “She struck me with that scythe, and threw me off the building. It was….uhh...” she pauses for a moment. “Roughly a 10 story fall I imagine? I was there, bleeding and on deaths door, but I remembered one spell. A spell of restoration. I tried to use it, but fucked up. And now...I’m stuck like this. They sent me to Graball, and that’s how you met me.” She just shrugs. “Now your turn, rose.”

 

Kyro was silent for a moment to let all that information digest. She then looked Boo in the eye and began her spiel. “My name is Kyroshiro Tamashi, though you may call me Kyro if you wish,” She began. “I was born in a vast forest just south of the northern territories, in the area in between the warm and the cold. Twas called the Archiledes Forest. We are a peaceful people, the Dryads. However, the forest we called home was home to a great darkness. We've no name to it, however any Dryads whom come in touch with it become frenzied, and so we have driven off all those whom succumb to the darkness. In doing so we have split the forest into two halves, the Dryads and the Felled.” She paused as a painful memory came to mind. “However, after a while of this, we Dryads were soon being outnumbered as the darkness in the forest became stronger and stronger. More and more of us became Felled until there was but a few tens of us left. We Dryads are normally tied to the tree we are borne from, but we can leave our trees by making garments made of the leaves and bark of the tree. The last of usu came to a decision to leave the forest and find new homes as well as to find some help, so we forged garments made of our trees and fled. The Felled however caught wind of this and chased us. Of the 30 of us that were left, only 5 of us escaped alive.” Several tears fell down as she recounted her tale. “We all were separated when a storm surrounded us, picking us up and flinging us in separate directions. When I came to, I was in an area most unfamiliar. I stayed for a while before I came to the decision to continue our mission, and so I wandered the lands for quite some time before I housed myself in the woods outside of this town. I've stayed here ever since and have only made contact with several people. At least until the other day when I met Nairu.” She looked away to wipe her tears before looking back at Boo.

 

“So you’re...I thought the legends were false.” Boo seems to look at you, in awe. “Well...sorry for nearly killing ya there. But, you know, I need to get home too. I am just wanted there. Hell, I’d love to find out who my bloody father was, but I imagine him dead at this point. And even then, he’d probably piss me off. So,” she gets up, putting the knife in her pocket and walking to Kyro, putting a hand on her shoulder. “How about you help me, and I help you? I got friends in high places.” She smiles at Kyro, but something tells you her friends are not really the honest type, giving her personality.

 

Kyro looks at her cautiously before nodding her head slowly. "Very well. I shall agree to help thee.... for now." To when Boo playfully pulls the knife out, but instead of cutting her, merely plays with her own hair with it. “Well, guess that’s a start. Just wake me up when it’s morning.” she says, putting the knife back in her pocket. She just walks to the couch, and quietly lays down and covers herself with whatever covering she could find. She almost blends in the room. Kyro looks at the panda woman before going into a corner of the room to lay down. No way was she leaving the other alone, not when she was still suspicious of her, even if only a little.

 

Nairu stood there, in the doorway, hiding and listening to the whole conversation. He wanted to get rid of Boo right of the bat, but he felt he might as well give her a chance. He just shrugged and went back to his bed.


	5. Chapter 5

The night passed, Boo remained hidden from the world under her makeshift cover, Kyro remained vigilant as the night passed of her attacker merely asleep in front of her, and Nairu had enough and just called it a night. Soon, the sun began to rise, the dawn of the sun peering through the hills. Boo was the first to wake up, with a lazy stretch. She took her black jacket off, only wearing her grayed out shirt and black pants. She used to have more appropriate clothing, but she’s long outgrown it. The symbol on it is all faded and impossible to read. Kyro remains awake, though merely pretending, trying to keep a vigilant eye on Boo. She just gets up and notices you, kicking you in the leg. “Hey, wake up sleepyhead. Sun’s out.”

 

Kyro merely “wakes” up and gets up as well, stretching as well before getting up, wobbling in her attempt. “"I wake up faster when I’m out in the sun,” is her reply. Boo just shrugs and just says “Well, that’s why I’m awake knucklehead.” There she searches the fridge for anything to eat, before Nairu comes out with a bat, looking like he’s going to hit Boo. Kyro sees this and holds her hand up, telling him to stop. Nairu looks at you in confusion, and beckons Kyro to enter his room. Boo doesn’t even notice as she’s busy trying to find food to eat.

 

"Shes harmless, if thats what you are asking," Kyro tells him before he could ask. "For the most part anyways." She holds a hand to her throat, feeling the small incision from that night. "I made sure to watch over her through the night." Nairu sees this and it only seems to worsen it. “Bullshit. I saw what she was doing to you last night. She’d kill you if she had the chance. We need to get her out the house, now.” Nairu begins to walk to the door, but soon stops. Outside, you hear the hooves of horses approaching the farm. Nairu holds your shoulder and helps you get low to the ground. Horses, and armor clanging. It’s the Monetarists. Boo runs in the room quietly and you see very clear panic in her. “Guys, you need to hide me, now. Any ideas?!” She says in a soft whisper.

 

“Yeah, go away.” Nairu replies. "Just transform and hide under something," Kyro interjects, looking at Nairu in exasperation. "We'll talk about her after we deal with these people." Nairu shakes his head, with a look of disapproval. “That can’t work; I was arrested in that form, they know me. I...” Boo pauses for a moment before sneaking into Nairu’s wardrobe. She puts a finger to her mouth, indicating to keep quiet as she closes the door. Nairu just sighs and walks out, still holding the bat. Outside are a few guards, and Ilberd himself.

 

“Nairu, glad to see you’re awake. Though...I’m a bit confused why you’re armed.” he states. Kyro comes out and just says “Do not mind him," Kyro tells them. "We merely thought we heard something sinister before you arrived."

 

“I hope that is all you’ve heard. You know there is an escaped convict out there lately, a Miss Boo Tarayade. Either way, it’s time we talked about what Jared wants you to do, Nairu.”

 

“Tell him to go fuck himself, for one. And two, what?” Nairu said snarly.

 

Ilberd just chuckles. “Well, he wants you to first visit the Kingdom of Taballa, Mizu’s Kingdom. There, he wants you to try and...be diplomatic, if that makes sense.” Ilberd looks at Nairu with worry. “I know it’s asking a lot of you, but you do know how mannerisms work?”

 

“Yes, I behave when I need to. I just hate how he and his goons treat us. We’re like dirt to him, less than that. I don’t understand why you choose to defend him so.”

 

“I know he’s far from the greatest, but he is the one in charge currently. The only way he can get out is if he’s elected out.”

 

“That’ll never happen; he’ll just buy everyone out.” Nairu rolls his eyes.

 

“I mean, you….” Ilberd pauses for a moment. “Well, either way, Kyro, Nairu, you two have a grandiose mission to prepare for. But first, may I see those...Limiters, I think they are?” Nairu does it first, and all Ilberd does is press a button, same with Kyros. With 5 lights originally on it, only 4 are on now. Ilberd then bows and takes his leave.  


"The coast is clear Boo," Kyro says going to fetch the panda woman. She quietly comes out of the dresser she hid in, several loose articles of clothing all over her. “If you’re lying…” she murmurs before coming out and looking for herself. Then she turns to Nairu. “How about I come with, eh? I can help!”

 

“Get lost. Now.” Nairu says, looking really mad at her. Kyro sighs from Nairus aggressiveness. "Perhaps we should hear her out a bit," Kyro suggests. "I know you are rather untrusting of someone whose broken into your home (and is rather... uncouth, she says under her breath), but perhaps she may have information we might like." Nairu just sighs and pulls you into the kitchen to talk. “She’s a fucking thief. And she tried to kill you last night. How are you sure she’s not gonna stab us in the back when we least expect it? Or just waiting for the right time to kill us just for some money we have? I heard what happened last night, all of it. I think she’s lying to us, about everything. What do you think that makes her trustworthy?”

 

Kyros eyes widen from what he said. " So you heard about...," She quietly says before shaking her head. "As for whether shes trustworthy or not... just call it a feeling." She looks him straight in the eye. "We dryads are able to sense intents of others. More of an empathy ability really. Even though these limiters have dulled them, I can faintly sense some intent, though it would have to be really powerful. She at least does not wish to harm us. That much I can tell you."

 

Nairu at first just remains there, like a stone wall. But eventually he just warms up. “Alright. But if things go to hell, I’m blaming you.” he says calmly before finally beckoning to Boo. They decided just to walk to the city. They can’t get a horse, so what else can they do?

 

It turned from a few minutes to hours. Nairu kept quiet most of the time, though he did turn frequently behind him, to see if Kyro and Boo were following. Boo just kept cutting some of her hair with the knife she had, eventually cutting about an inch or two off. She offers to do the same with Kyro, but she politely declined. After a while, they finally stumble into something unusual. It looked like a giant mansion in the middle of the forest. Inside was nothing but giant webbings, like a spiders den. Nairu seemed to shudder a little, but tried to walk past it. Boo, however, began to talk. “Hey hotshot, I’m pretty sure we can go inside.”

 

“No. There’s an infestation.” is all Nairu says. Boo just shrugs and laughs. “So? We can go through, you got…whatever you got back now? What is it?”

 

“...That’s a good question, honestly. Still, no.” The two seem to argue over it, and Kyro looks at two before shaking her head. She walks pass the two and heads towards the entrance of the mansion. The door is old and made of a wood you recognize, Dark Oak. The styling is very pretty, but inside is another story. It’s abandoned, for how long you cannot tell. You see a few things lying about, like weapons. Nairu and Boo finally walk over and notice the insides too. Nairu begins to notice the weapons. “Claymores, bastard swords...must’ve been a military family or something. Reckon we can get some stuff?”

 

Kyro looks at him in alarm. "You would pillage items from an abandoned housing," she asked him in surprise. She shakes her head. "I dont believe we should touch anything here.... This place reeks of an uneasy feeling." She looks around, trying to spot the source of the feeling, tuning out the other two. Nairu just simply points to the skeletons on the ground. “They’re dead, like they can use it anyways, it’s just...looks like there’s a lot of spiders. That’s probably what killed them...but something’s in there…”

 

Boo just lockpicks the door and opens it, the odor of decay and dust hitting the party. After a minute Boo steps inside, with Nairu chasing after her. Kyro stares at the inside of the mansion in alarm as she didnt expect them to just galivant right in. The feeling of unease surrounds her, nearly paralyzing her. She barely manages to shake the feeling, before proceeding to rush inside, intending on catching up to her wayward companions. The inside is just as bad as you thought. You nearly trip on a few bones of the last inhabitants. You quickly notice that the skulls...look like they’ve been eaten into, as a huge portion of the right side of many of the skulls look chewed into. Nairu grabs Boo by her collar and tries to get her to stop. After a while, Nairu tries to grab a sword, but hesitates at first, before grabbing a machete, covered in black, and with spikes on one end. Looks sharp. Nairu at first shudders and looks mortified, but the feeling passes after a moment. “Dear god...what the hell happened here?”

 

“My guess is the spiders ate their brains! And are after ours!” Boo says playfully, like a child. “Boo...” Nairu says. You’re already in, so you might as well look. You see a kitchen, a library, and a few more rooms upstairs. Though...something is lingering, you just know it…

 

"Companions, I do not like this feeling I'm sensing," Kyro tries to persuade the two. She continues to chase them before something catches her attention. She saw a staff made of an enriched dark oak with a rather ornate design, the curved top looking like an elks head. She halted in her pursuit of Boo in favor of analyzing the staff, a calling coming over her as it radiated a positive feeling over the negativity around it. It felt familiar…

 

“I know. Me neither, but...what if its something that can break out and hurt people? You think it’s worth to see what it is?” Boo says.

 

“If it wanted to it could a long time ago.” Nairu adds. Boo just shrugs and goes into the library. Nairu follows, but you very quickly notice Boo petrified in fear. Nairu sees something and grabs Boo, throwing her behind a bookshelf, before beckoning to Kyro to hurry. Kyro does not notice Nairus beckoning, the feeling of familiarity consuming her being, memories she had pushed into the back of her mind. She reached out to the staff before she was interrupted by Nairu having enough of her slowness grabbing her and throwing her behind the same bookshelf. What you see is spine chilling. It’s a man, in clothes tattered and chewed. But he’s lumbering like a zombie. Boo looks beyond pale, petrified, and when it looks over at you, what you see does the same, even to Nairu. Its skull is chewed into, the right eye is gone, the left half eaten through, only leaving the stem. Inside the skull, you see...what looks like some spider, hissing through the skull and patrolling the area. It uses its many legs to control the body movement, though poorly as it lumbers through the halls. Boo looks like she’s about to scream and run away. Kyro rushes and covers Boo's mouth before she could utter a sound, keeping the disgust of seeing the corpse to a minimum. Boo’s eyes light up with terror, but soon the corpse walks away, far away. Boo soon grabs Kyro’s hand and talks. “W-what is that thing?!”

 

“...Something beyond dead.” Nairu adds. “I say we ge-” before Nairu could finish talking, you hear the loud sounds of something crawling on the roof. The pitter patter of the wood begins to only make Boo more terrified. “Get out, now.” Nairu adds, grabbing both Kyro and Boo. However, outside is another one of those abominations, and they notice all three. A loud hiss appears as it rushes to Nairu. He swings his sword, knocking the monster back, and Nairu tries to fire something at it, a spell or anything! He does succeed, but the sound resonates all across the mansion…

 

Kyro looks at Nairu, a bit miffed. "Did you really have announce our presence to the whole bloody house," Kyro admonished the lad, though sighed. "Too late for silence, I vote we should make a break for the door." Nairu looks mad. “How was I supposed to know it’d make that much noise?! You think I know this magic better than you do!?”

 

As they argue, the roof collapses from above, and very quickly something comes down below and grabs Boo. She screams as whatever grabs her carries her up back to the roof, posthaste. Before Nairu and Kyro could talk again, suddenly more of those monsters appeared, all hissing and trying to block all exits off of them.

 

“...Fucking hell!” Nairu looks to Kyro. “I got an idea, but do you trust me on this?”

 

"As long as it gets us out of this situation, then do whatever you need to," Kyro said, looking up at where the thing took Boo, a worried look on her face. "Better do it quick, I wish to get Boo out of her situation." Nairu just grabs the rock he got before they were sent to this mission, the red rock that gave him the magic originally. It glows radiantly, and Nairu tries to think for a second. (Okay. This rock let me blow up before. What if I…) Nairu’s rock glows more and more, and as Nairu opens his eyes, the sword in his hand glows with a red flame. One monster rushes to him, but he just swings. The monster’s split in half, red crimson fire burning the corpse. Then he swings again, striking the rest down in a horizontal slash. They scream in agony as they burn to ash. However the flames still linger, but aren’t seeming to spread. “...jesus. I...really need to learn what this is.” Nairu looks to the roof, the hole still there. “Looks like we gotta take the long way. I doubt we can climb that without the roof collapsing.”

 

Kyro hummed in thought as she looked around the area, trying to find anyway up. She notices some stairs in the direction they were heading, her curiosity peaked. "Mayhap our solution lies up the stairs," she suggested her companion. She didn't wait for a reply as she began walking towards the stairs, passing the cane she was entranced by earlier, picking it up and holding it close to herself, ignoring the memories they came with. Nairu seems to agree and follows Kyro.

 

…

 

Boo seemed to pass out from the panic, and when she reawakens, she sees herself covered in something. Her eyes are having a hard time adjusting to the darkness. The smell of dust and decay is overwhelming. When her vision corrects, she sees herself covered in some silken web. Boo simply fumbles for her knife, eventually grabbing it and cutting her way out. The area around her is nothing but bones. Bones, rotten meat, and more of those spiders, but...all encased in eggs. Boo almost threw up seeing this, but trying to push her fear aside, she wanders about. Eventually she sees a door, all covered in webs. She opens it, and the door falls apart, falling to a loud smash. She steps out, coughing a lung. She sees Nairu and Kyro far below, and she waves to them. Kyro looks up in alarm from the sudden noise, the cane being wielded in a threatening manner, before noticing Boo. "And theres strike two in the noise pollution," Kyro mutters to herself, relaxing herself a bit as she walked to underneath Boo. "Are you alright Boo?" Kyro looked the panda woman over as well as she could from her vantage point, her somewhat obsessive nature with healing the injured overtaking her a bit.Boo seems to be in a tizzy, but before she can say anything, that giant spider comes out again, this time tackling her down from her vantage point, landing feet from Kyro. The landing cracks the floor, and you see her bruised, probably with a broken bone. The giant spider roars and rushes the party, where Nairu just fires a spell again at it, only making it recoil. Then he tries again, this time leaving a trial of fire. It seems scared of it, and Nairu quickly notices. With a smug look, Nairu grabs the rock again and just keeps firing in all directions, lighting the house ablaze. He then grabs both Boo and Kyro, running to the exit. The giant spider follows, faster than the party. Nairu just keeps firing behind him, chasing the giant spider away. The eventually get to the front door, and with one last spell as they all hoped out, the house is finally set ablaze entirely. The screams of the spiderlings overtake the party’s ears. The fire rages on for a good few minutes until the screams finally die down, for good. “Sorry, but that thing HAD to die.”

 

“There was so much...eggs, so many spiders...” Boo shudders, too shaken to think straight. Kyro silently agreed, not outright disliking spiders but would do anything to avoid them. She took a few moments to catch her breath before looking at the burning building in front of them, feeling somewhat saddened a house like this was just being burned to the ground. She looked at Nairu to see he was panting from some exertion of firing so many fire spells in quick succession. She was about to say something about being a pyromaniac but shook her head and kept quiet. He saved their lives, so she would keep her tongue. Nairu just sighs after a while, and looks into the sky. It’s almost night. “I know that today was rough, but at least it’s almost done. How about we just set up for the night? Far, far away from here?”

 

The party walks a few miles away from the burning house, and eventually finds an opening in the woods. They drop all they got into a pile and prepare to bunker down for the night. However, you don’t see Boo around the site. You can feel her around, just not near the party. Kyro walks around the site, looking for the missing panda woman. "Boo, where have you gone, I know you’re around," Kyro calls out to her. While she doesn’t respond, eventually she finds her. She’s laying next to a tree, with her pack on her side. She’s out of her black slacks and hood, and now just in a white sweater and jeans, odd attire for a thief. The rest of her clothes are all covered in webs, and she seems to revolt at it. Though, she’s just staring at a photo, not even noticing Kyro. Kyro looked at Boo curiously, before slowly and quietly walking up to the girl. When she was only a few feet away she stopped, a worried look on her face. "Are you alright," She asked the thief softly. "Is something ailing you?" She looks at her, and you see the photo. It looks like Boo a few years ago, and a boy next to her. Back before she was given her curse. “Yeah. Just...reliving the past I guess. Tell me, did you ever have someone there when you needed them the most? Like, I did. His name was Tarada, but...” she looks hurt, but just pushes it down. “Well...let’s just leave it as that. We’re heading where next?”

 

Kyro says nothing for a moment before looking Boo in the eyes. "Listen, I know what its like to have someone there for you," she said, recalling two smiling faces, before one of them darkened to a deadly grin and the other beamed at her. Her hair shadowed her eyes as she thought of them as well as one other, her hands gripping the cane upon her back before she snapped out of her spell. She smiled at the panda woman whom looked at the dryad with some level of worry. "So if you ever need to talk, please do not hesitate to." She turned to walk back to the campsite. "Come on, pretty sure Nairu is getting worried. As for where we're heading, according to Ilberd, they wish for us to travel to the Mizu Kingdom in Taballa." She paused as she remembered a certain detail. "Wait a moment.... didn't you say something about being wanted by some army called Taballa?" She looked at the panda woman in curiosity.

 

“Yeah. I stole the Book of Yarkin.” she says, before just sighing and beginning to talk again. “And as for talking, Tarada was the one who took care of me after we ran away from the orphanage. He was there when I needed him, but...the streets are rough, and...and...” she looks saddened. “He died protecting me. That isn’t the first time I met a spider of that magnitude. I saw one tear him limb from limb...” before she can talk, Nairu walks up to the two, holding some food. It looks like chicken. “Hey, I’m no master cook, but here’s my best.” Nairu says alarmingly calm.

 

Kyro looked at the male in surprise, not thinking he would come out to find them. "A-ah Nairu," the dryad stuttered, her face flushing a bit of purple from embarrassment. "We were just about to h-head back now." She looked at the meal he had before flushing a bit more. "A-ah, if you don’t mind, would you make the portion of meat smaller. Eh, we dryads arent exactly known for eating meat. I saw some apples around here, those should help fill me with the portion." She didn’t want to make the boy upset at making more food than necessary, however dryads digestive systems were not made to handle large amounts of meat, unless an abundance of vegetation was added to them.

 

“...” he just shrugs and takes a mass chunk of the chicken out. “I brought some apples of my own.” He beckons the party over, and they sit by the fire for the rest of the night, talking about how they’re going to get to Taballa.


End file.
